Cadets top Good Counsel, 62-54
From start to finish, St. John’s was the team to beat this season in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, which made Monday’s girls championship at Bender Arena an appropriate conclusion to a satisfying season.
St. John’s grabbed the lead late in the first period and refused to relinquish it, defeating Good Counsel 62-54 Monday night and winning its first WCAC title in seven years.
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Led by junior Mooriah Rowser (16 points), senior Mariah Jones (15 points), and sophomore Lindsay Allen (13 points, 9 rebounds, four assists), St. John’s (29-2) beat Good Counsel (27-4) for the third time this season by a single-digit margin, and erased the painful memory of a title-game loss last year to Elizabeth Seton.
“These girls have been working in the gym, in the weight room, since March 1st of last year, so they’ve earned it,” Cadets’ coach Jonathan Scribner said. “They put in the work. When you do that, good things come your way.”
St. John’s advances to the City Title Game Monday at Verizon Center. The Cadets will face D.C. public school champion H.D. Woodson (18-10), which plays in the game for the sixth straight season.
After Good Counsel took an early 7-2 lead, St. John’s seized control with back-to-back 3-pointers from Jones and junior Jade Clark, igniting a 22-6 run.
Led by 6-foot-1 sophomore Amanda Floravanti (17 points, 12 rebounds), Good Counsel whittled the lead to five points on four occasions, but coach Tom Splaine’s team never got any closer. Each time, St. John’s was challenged, it responded.
When Floravanti scored at the start of the second half, Good Counsel pulled to within 28-23. But St. John’s converted its next three possessions.
Back-to-back layups by Floravanti twice cut the lead to five points midway through the fourth period. But Rowser, a 5-9 guard, followed with a pair of free throws and Allen, a 5-7 guard, hit a 3-pointer to hike the lead back to 10 with 3:44 to play. Down the stretch, Allen hit two more baskets to keep the Cadets in charge.
Overall, it was an off night scoring-wise for Allen, who had a combined 61 points in the two regular season games against Good Counsel. Monday night, however, she provided points at opportune moments.
“They clearly made a concerted effort to [stop] her this game,” Scribner said. “You’re talking about a major, major, high-caliber, complete player. It’s not just, ‘Look at me, I can score.’ She does it all. It’s good she’s on our side.”
A big key was the defense of Rowser on Good Counsel junior standout Faith Randolph (7 points), who missed 13 of 16 shots. The 5-9 junior scored 25 points Saturday in the Falcons’ win over Holy Cross in the semifinals.
“The girls played probably their best defensive game of the year,” Scribner said. “The one and dones, the hands in the face, every shot they took was challenged.”
St. John’s is the fifth different WCAC girls champion in as many years. The Cadets are likely to be favored to repeat next year, however, with its top two players, Rowser and Allen, due back.
“Good Counsel’s gonna be totally loaded. So is Holy Cross and McNamara,” Scribner said. “We should have a very strong team, considering we are returning the core.”
